Kalasin, Isaan, Thailand
July 3-4, 2010
Who says you can’t celebrate the 4th of July without being in America? Definitely not me! 7 of us from the city made the 7 hr night bus trek up to Isaan (the rural NE region of Thailand) to visit our friends who teach in Kalasin for in honor of the good ol’ US of A. It turned out to be a really great weekend full of food, friends and laughs and despite being exhausted after the overnight bus back to BKK (landing us in the city about 5am with school starting at 8) it was worth it.
We got in late Friday night and were taken to Reuven and Dena’s apartment building where we all found some space and got some much desired sleep. Saturday
morning we woke up to a sunny day and went on a little tour of the town. Kalasin isn’t big by any means, but it isn’t small either. It’s definitely calmer and simpler than BKK and I really liked the atmosphere. Right by their apartment is a small lake that is bustling with picnickers and joggers and people out and about which is not something you really see by the industrial area I live in. After some coffee from a café by the water we all hopped into a songtaew for a trip out to the dam for a day in the sun.
The dam is basically this big lake where we were able to rent innertubes and lawn chairs (for a total of about $1) and just floated around all day. It was pretty awesome (minus the red gravel ‘beach’ we had to walk on) to hang out with friends in a way that is pretty similar to what we do at home, except where we were had a herd of water buffalo hanging out. For lunch we ordered mounds of fried chicken and sticky rice (a staple of the region) and I treated everyone 
to a banana leaf filled with fried crickets! They were actually pretty good unless you got some antennae or wings stuck in your teeth :) After all was said and done and eaten and floated we each paid around $4 or $5 total for the day including a very handsome tip to the amazing locals who waited on us…can’t do that in America!
We made our way back through the rice paddies and rested up for a bit before heading out to the birthday party of our friend’s co-worker/a ‘Welcome to Kalasin’ party for us. Arriving at the restaurant we were greeted by Jeannie, Reuven and Dena’s coordinator, who is quite possibly one of the nicest women I’ve ever met. She welcomed us with open arms and was so
excited to have us—showed us our table, got us drinks, had food brought out, etc. I think we ate for 2 straight hours as more people kept showing up and dish after dish of pad thai, fish, cashew chicken, som tam, isaan sausage, etc. was put down in front of us! Dinner segued nicely into hours of karaoke singing with rousing renditions of songs by British, American, Vietnamese, Chinese and Thai people! A favorite was ‘My Heart Will Go On’ from Titanic in which we all sang together complete with a reenactment of Jack and Rose on the bow of the ship pretending they are flying J After karaoke we made our way to a club called MV to watch the football match and listen to the live band; it was amazing to have all these people there to meet us and make us feel welcomed in their home.
Sunday found us up and ready for the actual 4th holiday. We went to Pammy’s house (another of their school coordinators) where we were able to hang out and spend the afternoon grilling. Jeannie was there and brought each of the 7 of us who came to visit a beautiful,
handmade blanket from her friends’ shop as a welcome present; can’t wait to go back! Reuven and I were in charge of the grill which was a small half barrel with chunks of wood on fire with a small, movable metal grate about 2 inches from the flames. It was the hottest thing I have ever experienced considering we were standing over the grill in the middle of the day in Thailand—not to mention our first batch of burgers were a little roasty due to the raging fire. It really felt like home being with a group of friends in the middle of summer grilling and then heading to the town pool for a cool off swim before getting on the frigid bus for the journey home. One of the coolest parts of the day was getting to show the teachers from other countries how we celebrate Independence Day back home (I think they had a great time, at least I know I did!)
July 3-4, 2010
Who says you can’t celebrate the 4th of July without being in America? Definitely not me! 7 of us from the city made the 7 hr night bus trek up to Isaan (the rural NE region of Thailand) to visit our friends who teach in Kalasin for in honor of the good ol’ US of A. It turned out to be a really great weekend full of food, friends and laughs and despite being exhausted after the overnight bus back to BKK (landing us in the city about 5am with school starting at 8) it was worth it.
We got in late Friday night and were taken to Reuven and Dena’s apartment building where we all found some space and got some much desired sleep. Saturday
morning we woke up to a sunny day and went on a little tour of the town. Kalasin isn’t big by any means, but it isn’t small either. It’s definitely calmer and simpler than BKK and I really liked the atmosphere. Right by their apartment is a small lake that is bustling with picnickers and joggers and people out and about which is not something you really see by the industrial area I live in. After some coffee from a café by the water we all hopped into a songtaew for a trip out to the dam for a day in the sun.
The dam is basically this big lake where we were able to rent innertubes and lawn chairs (for a total of about $1) and just floated around all day. It was pretty awesome (minus the red gravel ‘beach’ we had to walk on) to hang out with friends in a way that is pretty similar to what we do at home, except where we were had a herd of water buffalo hanging out. For lunch we ordered mounds of fried chicken and sticky rice (a staple of the region) and I treated everyone 
to a banana leaf filled with fried crickets! They were actually pretty good unless you got some antennae or wings stuck in your teeth :) After all was said and done and eaten and floated we each paid around $4 or $5 total for the day including a very handsome tip to the amazing locals who waited on us…can’t do that in America!We made our way back through the rice paddies and rested up for a bit before heading out to the birthday party of our friend’s co-worker/a ‘Welcome to Kalasin’ party for us. Arriving at the restaurant we were greeted by Jeannie, Reuven and Dena’s coordinator, who is quite possibly one of the nicest women I’ve ever met. She welcomed us with open arms and was so
excited to have us—showed us our table, got us drinks, had food brought out, etc. I think we ate for 2 straight hours as more people kept showing up and dish after dish of pad thai, fish, cashew chicken, som tam, isaan sausage, etc. was put down in front of us! Dinner segued nicely into hours of karaoke singing with rousing renditions of songs by British, American, Vietnamese, Chinese and Thai people! A favorite was ‘My Heart Will Go On’ from Titanic in which we all sang together complete with a reenactment of Jack and Rose on the bow of the ship pretending they are flying J After karaoke we made our way to a club called MV to watch the football match and listen to the live band; it was amazing to have all these people there to meet us and make us feel welcomed in their home.Sunday found us up and ready for the actual 4th holiday. We went to Pammy’s house (another of their school coordinators) where we were able to hang out and spend the afternoon grilling. Jeannie was there and brought each of the 7 of us who came to visit a beautiful,
handmade blanket from her friends’ shop as a welcome present; can’t wait to go back! Reuven and I were in charge of the grill which was a small half barrel with chunks of wood on fire with a small, movable metal grate about 2 inches from the flames. It was the hottest thing I have ever experienced considering we were standing over the grill in the middle of the day in Thailand—not to mention our first batch of burgers were a little roasty due to the raging fire. It really felt like home being with a group of friends in the middle of summer grilling and then heading to the town pool for a cool off swim before getting on the frigid bus for the journey home. One of the coolest parts of the day was getting to show the teachers from other countries how we celebrate Independence Day back home (I think they had a great time, at least I know I did!) 
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